By Mandy Payne, Economic Development Officer
We initially requested to be part of the Small Business Saturday Bus Tour just over a year ago and I was delighted when the stop in Christchurch was confirmed. Small Business Saturday is a non-commercial campaign, which highlights small business success and encourages people to ‘shop local’.
Small businesses make a significant contribution to the growth of the UK’s economy. There are 5.7 million small businesses in the UK and at the start of last year the combined annual turnover of UK small businesses was £1.9 trillion.
The Small Business Saturday Bus Tour travelled to 30 different towns and cities across five weeks leading up to Small Business Saturday on the first Saturday in December. This year Small Business Saturday took place on 1 December.
The Small Business Saturday Bus arrived in Christchurch on a cold, windy day but nothing could dampen the excitement and enthusiasm of the small business owners who had signed up to showcase their businesses on the day.
On board the bus local small businesses took part in a mentoring programme. There was the opportunity for small businesses to share experiences and ideas. There was a great atmosphere and the hot drinks and biscuits which were handed out by the Small Business Saturday team were gratefully received!
We are grateful to the Mayor of Christchurch, Cllr Lesley Dedman, the Leader of Christchurch Borough Council, Cllr David Flagg and Deputy Leader, Mrs Trisha Jamieson for giving their time to welcome the bus to Christchurch. Our thanks too to Gareth Bowden, President of Christchurch Chamber of Commerce for his support on the day.
Cllr Flagg, Gareth Bowden and some of the small business owners took part in live Facebook interviews with #Peteontheseat.
We were also pleased to welcome Claire Addiscott from Addiscotts Dog Food. Addiscotts, a Verwood based business, was listed in the Top SmallBiz100 list this year. Claire was invited to the House of Lords with the other 99 small businesses to celebrate their success.
We shared real time updates on social media and the event proved to be great way of raising the profile of local small businesses in the lead up to Small Business Saturday which took place on 1 December.
Small Business Saturday offers support to small businesses throughout the year with free workshops, talks and blogs available on their website and updates on their social media pages.
There is also the ‘Small Business Finder’ a directory of small businesses near you listed on the Small Business Saturday website.
Thank you to all the local small businesses who were involved in our campaign to support Small Business Saturday. We hope your Small Business Saturday was a success and look forward to hearing from you next year!